The Garlic Bread Substitution You Should Always Order At Traditional Italian Restaurants

It's no secret that garlic bread is often the go-to side for Italian food among many Americans who are big fans of the cuisine. This is for good reason — the buttery, savory side (that always tastes better at an Italian restaurant than at home) pairs perfectly with many of the most popular Italian dishes. However, if you specifically want to enjoy an authentic Italian meal, the Americanized side dish is far from the best choice to get the job done. Instead, ordering some bruschetta alongside your favorite Italian dishes is a great alternative that is more in line with what Italians really eat and is arguably just as tasty as a slice of garlic bread.

This swap was recommended to us by Nick Leighton, an etiquette expert at Were You Raised By Wolves?, who quickly explained how much garlic bread differs from what you'd find on the menu of an actual Italian restaurant. "Garlic bread as we know it in the United States is not traditionally Italian," Leighton revealed, "In Italy, bread is often served plain and is meant to accompany the meal, mop up sauces, or balance out richness. In some places like Tuscany, bread is often not even salted."

So, garlic bread isn't quite the best choice for a traditional Italian restaurant in part because it's not really an authentic part of Italian cuisine, but also because bruschetta is simply a far superior form of bread for the job. Not only is it more authentic, but bruschetta's taste arguably blends better with Italian dishes than garlic bread as a result of the use of more Italian-centric ingredients at play. For starters, most bruschetta is made of a harder, rustic Italian loaf of bread, like ciabatta, that's been grilled or toasted rather than the softer breads, like French bread, that garlic bread often calls for.

Furthermore, Nick Leighton added how bruschetta uses ingredients that balance them better than what most Americans are used to with garlic bread. "Bruschetta is indeed Italian," Leighton prefaced. "What elevates it is that the garlic is more of an accent. It's like the vermouth in a martini. And olive oil is used instead of butter, so it has a lighter feeling." Plus, while garlic bread can occasionally be topped with some cheese, bruschetta is notoriously topped with tomato, vinegar, mozzarella, and basil, making it have more flavor depth than garlic bread or oil-dipped bread — which is also not a part of authentic Italian cuisine.